Meeting Today's Greatest Challenge - Legalization

Guatemala Radio Project Director Mark Camp is interviewed on air

Twelve years ago, the Peace Accords that ended 36 years of civil war guaranteed Indigenous Peoples the freedom to use community media. So far, the government hasn't made good on this promise. Nearly every radio and television outlet is controlled by the government or by large corporations. Yet more than a thousand unlicensed stations broadcast throughout the Guatemalan countryside: religious, partisan, commercial, and community-based. Any "man of influence" can have the police raid a station, arrest the operators, and confiscate equipment—simply because it is broadcasting without a license. Therefore, legalization of our 175 community stations is our first priority. Despite promises made in the Guatemalan Constitution and the Peace Accords, the Guatemalan telecommunications law does not allow licenses for nonprofit community radio (only commercial radio and government-run radio are allowed). Community members know that they have a right to community radio, and they know that their communities need the radio stations. They are determined to continue to exercise their right and remain on the air even though they face the constant threat of being closed down by the government. On August 3rd, 2009, thanks to lobbying funded by Cultural Survival members and community radio listeners and volunteers, a bill to legalize community radio was introduced into the Guatemalan Congress. This bill, which would grant FM frequencies to nonprofit community radio stations, received a positive recommendation from a Congressional Committee on January 14, 2010. The next step is for the bill to be debated by the full Congress. Hundreds of citizens from dozens of communities where, only 13 years ago, civil war raged, are now engaged in participatory democracy as they lobby their congressional representatives to pass the bill into law. And that is thanks largely to the money donated by Cultural Survival members.

The proposed bill works off the commonly agreed-upon definition as:

“ A medium of communication that allows people from all sectors of society freedom of expression in all national languages and serves as a nonprofit entity that contributes to the protection, development and promotion of the nation’s cultural values.

Community Radio promotes the eradication of all forms of discrimination and encourages the participation of all Guatemalans, enabling multicultural, multiethnic and multilingual development in order to reach a true democracy.

It promotes and guarantees the participation of people from all sectors of society, so that they can freely express their opinions, ideas, proposals, suggestions, and criticisms for the sake of national dialog. It focuses on producing informative, educational, cultural, artistic, scientific and sport programming, all for the development of the Guatemalan community.”

Click here to read the bill that will be introduced to the Guatemalan congress (Spanish language only).

Click here to read more about the overall goals we hope to accomplish through the legislative process (Spanish language only).